Gun Violence and Mental Illness: A Resource List

December 18, 2012

We are all struggling to process the shocking violence that erupted in Newtown, Connecticut, on Friday. That the cold-blooded murder of twenty-eight people, including twenty small children, can be blamed, in part, on permissive gun laws and a culture soaked in graphic depictions of violence is, for many, indisuptable. Others point to Adam Lanza's precarious mental state -- and the failure of those who loved him to reach out for help -- as a contributing factor. For those interested in learning more about the increasingly intertwined issues of gun violence and mental health, we offer the following list of resources:

Issuelab, a service of the Foundation Center, has assembled a special research collection that explores the problem of gun violence in America, and what Americans can do about it.

A quick search of Foundation Directory Online yields this list of funders who support mental health services for youth and/or autism research/services:

In addition to the above, the Foundation Center's New York library staff has put together a list of nonprofit and government groups working to support mental health services in America:

Nonprofits

Treatment Advocacy Centerhttp://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/ The Treatment Advocacy Center is dedicated to eliminating barriers to the timely and effective treatment of severe mental illness. Visitors to the site can explore the Preventable Tragedies Database, which includes incidents involving individuals with a neurobiological brain disorder (usually untreated) who were victims or perpetrators of a violent episode.

Autism Research Institutehttp://www.autism.com/A national nonprofit that conducts and disseminates research on the causes of autism as well as methods of preventing, diagnosing, and treating autism spectrum disorders. The organization also provides networking, education, and support for families and people of all ages on the autism spectrum.

MHA-NYC (Mental Health Association of New York City)http://www.mhaofnyc.org/Through a combination od services, advocacy, and education, the Mental Health Association of New York City works to develop innovative approaches to mental health needs in the five boroughs of NYC.

"Mental Health: What Foundations Are Funding." September 2012, pp. 2143-6. Includes a sampling of mental health projects across the United States that foundations are funding. Examples include the provision of care in the criminal justice system, professional development in mental health policy, and services for veterans.

"What do we really know about foundations' funding of mental health?" By Ruth Tebbets Brousseau, July-August 2009, pp. 1200-14. A brief analysis of foundation giving for mental health based on Foundation Center data through 2006 and interviews with staff from major mental health grantmakers. The authors describe the challenges associated with defining and measuring mental health giving, and suggest questions that need to be addressed for further understanding in this area.

"From the talk to the walk." By Roger Hughes, May-June 2003, pp. 189-93. The executive director of Phoenix-based St. Luke's Health Initiatives, a health conversion foundation, examines the tenuous connections between mental health policy and the real world of mental illness.